


Along Came A Spider...

by trekwars777



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Gen, Hux Has Arachnophobia, Spiders
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-14
Updated: 2019-12-14
Packaged: 2021-02-26 06:28:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 912
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21789040
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/trekwars777/pseuds/trekwars777
Summary: Armitage Hux DESPISES spiders. Yet they can never seem to let him be...
Kudos: 5





	Along Came A Spider...

Armitage Hux hates spiders. Scratch that- he DESPISES them! Since he was a child, he always felt a sense of dread around arachnids or anything with eight legs. But what really cemented his fear was one fateful day during his scouting career. By pure accident, he had walked into a stray spider web while on a hike and found some trying desperately to escape his hair. The other scouts flew into a panic as he tried to get the webs and creatures off of him. Unfortunately for him, the ordeal was far from over. While he slept, a brown recluse was spinning their web and got dangerously close to his hand. But Armitage woke up in time and noticed the spider inching down towards him... Thanks to a well placed fly swatter from the scoutmaster, Armitage came out of the ordeal unscathed, yet knowing he couldn’t trust spiders. Nonetheless, the scoutmaster sent him to the camp nurse and made sure he checked Armitage for spider bites- fortunately, he had none, only stray cobwebs. When Armitage came home from camp, he regaled his parents about the ordeal, wincing as Brendol yelled for him to “man up” and kill the spider instead of panicking like a frantic child. (In his defense, he was a frantic child.) Maratelle, on the other hand, checked him for any potential spider bites, and she also found none. And from that moment forward, Armitage knew to watch anything with eight legs closely.   
  


Armitage’s arachnophobia never went away, but it wasn’t a case where if he saw a spider he’d do something drastic. They still made him uneasy, and he tried his best to steer clear of them, even going so far as to make sure things were free of cobwebs, much to Brendol’s pleasant surprise. Yet one could never be too sure, because sometimes your fears can spring on you when you least expect them to. Whenever he saw fake spiders, he winced a little, but wouldn’t break out in a full sprint- he just needed some convincing and reassurance that the incident from his childhood wouldn’t happen again. But one night, he had a dream that was straight out of the most terrifying horror movie. There were spiders crawling out of every crevice in the room, crawling onto him, and even out of his body, wrapping him into a venomous cocoon of silk... only to find himself waking up in a cold sweat, swatting away at invisible creatures. He sighed, thanking his sensible side for waking him up and finding that it was only a dream.  
  


Yet fate works in mysterious ways. Armitage was preparing for a recital where different university students would be performing solo instrumentals accompanied by piano, and he had been preparing his saxophone concerto for quite some time. He waited in the wings as someone finished up their rapid-fire euphonium recital, and made sure to check everything was in order and he was in tune. As soon as the previous musician played the final note for their piece, the piano finished up and there was applause. Armitage took a deep breath, collected his sheet music and the accompanist’s copy, and waited for the previous performer to leave the stage.   
  


“Okay, you’ve got this,” Armitage told himself, walking onstage, cradling his sax in one hand. As the audience applauded, he bowed and smiled in response at them. He then handed Phasma, the accompanist, her portion of the sheet music, and she thanked him. He arranged his bit on the stand and prepared his instrument, nodding to Phasma. She started playing, her fingers dancing over the keys with skill as the bluesy backing melody played. Armitage raised the mouthpiece to his lips and was about to play the first note, when he stopped short and let out a gasp. What he saw frightened him- a small legion of black widow spiders had eased themselves out of the bell of his saxophone and were making their way up towards the mouthpiece. Anyone who was in the front row and watched the spiders crawl out of a saxophone gasped in terror- nothing like that happened before! He gasped as he tried frantically to kill the spiders, which unfortunately lead to him toppling out of his chair and them getting dangerously close. Phasma let out a shriek as the spiders got closer, and she snatched the sheet music from the piano and began hitting the ground frantically. Armitage got up, put on the bravest face he could manage, and crushed the spiders underneath his foot. He and Phasma looked around, checking for any more eight legged invaders just in case. All signs were clear, so he had no reason to panic at all at the moment. Armitage smiled, got himself into position again, and made sure Phasma was situated as well.   
  


He sighed, and nodded at Phasma again. The concerto started again without a hitch, and Armitage began to play his piece, the music sounding like perfection after that ordeal. He then played his final notes, which echoed across the auditorium beautifully. The audience applauded gratefully, giving him and Phasma both a standing ovation. Armitage beamed as he bowed again, silently smiling at himself for performing perfectly as well as taking on the spider. As stupid as it seemed to him, he was pretty proud of himself for that moment.

And even though Armitage survived those experiences, he was still cautious around spiders- and yes, he still despises them.


End file.
